Fuel Assistance Demand Is Up

(AP) About 3,400 families are asking for fuel assistance in Cass and Beltrami counties this winter. They are part of a record 140 thousand families looking for state help in paying their heating bills.
Cass-Beltrami Fuel Assistance Coordinator Patty Hargrave says they have hundreds more waiting to have their applications processed. Demand is up 10 percent over last year.
One bit of good news, the price of fuel oil and natural gas is down from last summer.